Time Traveler is notable for being the first "holographic video game", caused by an optical illusion involving a CRT television set and a large curved mirror. It causes the characters to appear free-standing on a semicircular black platform (dubbed the "micro theatre"). Like most laserdisc games, the controls are somewhat basic, creating a game that is little more than glorified quick-time events.

Though Time Traveler was very successful in 1991, it did not revolutionise the arcade industry and very few other holographic games wre created. The only other Sega arcade game to use this type of display is Holosseum, which was produced mainly to replace faulty Time Traveler units.

In 2001 Time Traveler was released on DVD by Digital Leisure. The 3D effect here is created by using 3D anaglyph glasses (provided with the DVD) and the game is controlled using a standard DVD remote.